By the Sea trailer: Angelina Jolie Pitt on new drama

Earlier this year, Angelina Jolie Pitt told EW that writing, directing and starring in By the Sea (in theaters Nov. 13) was made easier thanks to her leading man, husband Brad Pitt.

“It was comforting in that he’s a great actor and we produced it together. So we were creating together and we were partners in making it. We were there to lean on each other,” she said. “But, of course, it comes with wanting to make sure I do right by him. The pressure of making sure that I was doing a good enough job because I care about this actor more than other actors! It was an emotionally charged set — even though the characters are very different from us, when you act you still express real emotion.”

A closer look at those real (and raw) feelings are on display in the film’s latest trailer. Set in France in the mid-70s, By the Sea follows Roland and Vanessa (Pitt and Jolie Pitt), a couple going through a difficult period while together at a picturesque hotel.

“I wanted to suggest and guide and give hints to the audience but not bore them or reveal all before the film itself,” Jolie Pitt writes in an email to EW about the new By the Sea trailer, which debuts exclusively above. “I like trailers that don’t explain the whole film; that tell you exactly what to expect.”

As for the plot and what Roland and Vanessa are grappling with, Jolie Pitt prefers to give viewers a sense of the tone and tenor of her new film, her third feature as director.

“It isn’t my intention to hide anything from the audience, but the film is a complicated adult drama where things are often not what they seem,” she writes. “The voyeurism for example, most people will assume only that it is titillating. But it has deeper resonance to the story. I like films that leave questions and cause discussion.”

EW asked Jolie PItt what she hopes audiences will take away from seeing this new trailer. “This trailer hints at one of the bolder aspects in the narrative. But what will they take away? I’m not sure,” she writes. “I hope they are curious and that when they see the film they find it interesting. That’s all I can hope for.”